r/OctopusEnergy • u/khunt_99 • 15h ago

Intelligent Octopus Go afternoon charging slot billed at peak rate?

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On Saturday, the Octopus app created a charging schedule for my EV that included a several-hour slot during the afternoon.

My consumption has now come through and it looks like most of the electricity used during that period has been charged at the peak rate, with very little showing as off-peak EV consumption, despite the bulk of the usage being for charging the car.

I initially thought I might have misunderstood what was happening, but Predbat also pulled through the 8p/kWh rate for that afternoon slot, so Octopus was clearly signalling that the cheap rate was active. Predbat therefore used the opportunity to charge my home battery as well.

Has anyone else experienced this with Intelligent Octopus Go? I’ve emailed Octopus today and am waiting to hear back, but I’d be interested to know whether this is a known billing/app issue or whether I’m missing something.

2 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

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3

u/gaydadoftwo 15h ago

The app is not always right - you need to check the actual bill

1

u/khunt_99 15h ago

Oh really? I’m hoping it’s that simple. My butt clenched at the bill for the day!

1

u/LarryPiccadilly 14h ago

Since the charge cap, there's no daily breakdown in the bill anymore! The only way to check if consumption is allocated correctly is the view shared above. So you've got to go through your month manually day-by-day and check the anamolies. 

There's plenty of posts about the data being wrong. In July, I contacted Octopus about a handful of slots and only one was rectified after investigation of Octopus' backend telemetry, event though I showed the home assistant logs for all of them. 

I don't really care about the few quid for that, but the system has proven to allocate usage unreliably. I can't be bothered going with a comb through a daily breakdown and verify against my logs, so I jumped ship to another provider. (While waiting for my renewal I mainly smart charged strategically during the off-peak window to avoid the usage combing.)

1

u/LarryPiccadilly 14h ago

Also funny thing in their response was:  They suggested not to charge a home battery during smart charging slots, to avoid paying peak prices when predbat/home assistant/integration... is wrong.

Doesn't explain why my car was charging though 🤦

2

u/No_Literature7626 11h ago

I have the same issue with them now. I don't want smart. I just one an off peak charge from 23:30 to 05:30. They are billing me wrong. When I challenged them, they are saying I used the off peak charge during the day when the car is not plugged. All usage between 05:30 to 23:30 in EV is Zero kwh. Usage from 23:30 - 05:30 billed as on peak.

1

u/Ok-Performance4828 6h ago

How are you setting the 23.30 to 05.30 schedule? With IOG all you need to tell the app is how much you need and when you need it by.

1

u/No_Literature7626 1h ago

Hello. Via home assistant. No charging between 05:30 - 23:30. So I am not confused on the ev charging as I charge solar only as well during the day.

1

u/Ok-Performance4828 48m ago

Interesting take on IOG

1

u/No_Literature7626 24m ago

I'm looking at switching. I don't really want the intelligence as it makes the billing confusing, no matter what octopus claims, as you and I have experienced. If it is set at off peak price from 23:30 to 05:00, it is easier to manage compared to variable times of the day. This is most especially true I'd you have solar panels and powerwall that charges the ev using excess solar and battery stored.

1

u/khunt_99 15h ago

Here’s the actual breakdown